KOREA'S HYUNDAI SEEKS TO BE WORLDWIDE LEADER

We aim to be one of the world's leading auto manufacturers in the 1990s," is the boast Hyundai, Korea's largest auto manufacturer, is now making.

With a new, fron--wheel-drive subcompact and a new factory which together are claimed to have cost well over $400 million, it is all set to go.

Designed to supersede the Pony, the new subompact is based on Mitsubishi's 1.3/1.5-liter single-overhead-cam engine, transaxle and suspension, decked out with a five-door hatchback body. Clearly an up-to-date design, it is code- named X-car but called the Excel in Korea.

This is the car with which Hyundai plans to invade the U.S. market this fall.

The auto appears to be a competent design, with reasonable interior space and a six-window construction with very slim rear pillars formed by the deep rear door. There are exceptionally deep side windows, a sloping hood and a typically bland frontal appearance.

Still, what really sets the "new Hyundai" apart from the old is the new factory. Not only does it drag the Koreans into the modern world, it gives them so much extra capacity that the company will be anxious to push exports up in a dramatic manner.

Hyundai's plant was initially set up under the management of George Turnbull, the British auto leader who had left BL in the mid-1970s.

Capacity until the recent changes was around 150,000 units a year, according to statistics released by the Korea Auto Industries Cooperative Association. Passenger cars accounted for some 121,000 units -- 91,000 Ponys and 30,000 Stellars.

Now, Hyundai has a new welding shop with 11 robots and an additional final aassembly line. To keep costs down, Hyundai has extended the main shops to accommodate the new lines. Now there are two welding and two final assembly lines.

One high-speed line, which has a capacity of 200,000 units per year, is used to build the Pony and the Pony Excel. The slower line, on which there are a couple of welding robots supplied by Fanuc, is used to build the larger Stellar sedan. It has a capacity of 100,000 units per year.

It is well known that the new plant and car were designed with the technical assistance of Mitsubishi Motors of Japan which, with Mitsubishi Corp. holding a 10 percent stake in Hyundai.

How far did this help go?

Hwang Ho Park, Hyundai manager of production engineering, said, "The engine came from Mitsubishi and so did some of the ideas on welding. But the layout, process planning and design of the welding equipment are our own."

At present, only 35 percent of the spot welding is automated, whereas the level is 70 to 96 percent in the U.S. and elsewhere.

"We aim to increase the automation level to 70 percent by 1987 with more robots," said Park.

As it is, special-purpose multi-welders are used in some sections of the underbody line and in the framing station, where the sides meet up with the underbody. But scattered around both lines are Hyundai's own robots and "traveling guns." Traveling guns are mounted on slides so that they can move along to make several welds in a straight line, such as on a body sill or cross member. They are relatively cheap and quite simple.

Then there are the 11 robots. These, too, are simple, with the ability to move in two, three or four different directions, whereas most welding robots can move in five or six directions. Thus, Hyundai's robots are relatively inexpensive.

The line is designed to produce one car every minute. Park said that the welding equipment had been designed to make a three-door coupe and a notchback sedan in addition to the five-door hatchback.

A completely new paint shop with an automated system has been installed and the assembly hall has been extended to produce a fine, airy environment.

Overall, this is an impressive plant which, except for the relatively few robots in use, would not be out of place in the U.S.

Hyundai appears to be in a very good position. First, Korean wages are very low. Second, the Koreans still work a full six-day week, so that overtime and overhead are reduced.

The plant is not overmanned. In fact, there are currently only 1,800 persons in the body and assembly area.